Chicken thighs are a favorite of mine because they’re inexpensive, easy to prepare, tender, juicy, and quite versatile. So I was really excited when they went on sale last week. I’m always looking for new ways to season them up or infuse flavor (see Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs, Honey Sriracha Chicken Thighs, and Soy Dijon Chicken Thighs), but decided to go with something very simple and delicious this time around. So I mixed up a very basic marinade with balsamic vinegar, garlic, a little freshly ground pepper, soy sauce for salt and depth, and a touch of brown sugar to balance the acids. The sweet and tangy marinade absorbed right into the tender meat and gave these Balsamic Chicken Thighs more flavor than a girl could ask for.
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I served these tasty Balsamic Chicken Thighs with some Skillet Potatoes and Green Beans, but they’d also be great with some rice or pasta to soak up all the delicious juices (just spoon it from the baking dish over top of your plate). Or, just make sure have some crusty bread on hand for sopping.
I love baking chicken thighs in the oven because it’s easy and hassle free, but this recipe would also work quite well on the grill. The little bit of brown sugar in the marinade will caramelize on the outside of the chicken for a deep, caramel-y flavor. Oooh, I’m so happy it’s outdoor grilling weather again! I <3 spring!
Balsamic Chicken Thighs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($0.80)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.10)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.10)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs ($2.40)
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional) ($0.25)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and combine it in a bowl with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, and a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill). Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish or heavy duty zip top bag and pour the marinade over top. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 1 to 8 hours. (You can do this before you leave for work in the morning.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the chicken and marinade into a baking dish. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Use a spoon or baster to bathe the chicken with the juices from the bottom of the dish once or twice during baking.
- Remove the chicken from the oven after 45 minutes and sprinkle a handful of freshly chopped parsley over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Balsamic Chicken Thighs – Step by Step Photos
To make this super simple marinade, just mince two cloves of garlic, then combine them in a bowl with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper (I use this McCormick grinder). While fancy balsamic vinegars ARE usually better tasting, I just used a basic, widely available brand (this one) and it tasted quite good. I’ll save my good stuff for sprinkling over salads or dipping some nice bread in.
Place four (or six) boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over top. You can also do this in a heavy-duty zip top bag (probably a gallon size), but I was out of those. Refrigerate the meat and marinade for one to eight hours so it can soak up all that goodness. I don’t bother trimming the fat off the meat because a lot of it melts off the chicken as it bakes (plus, I like the flavor), but you can before adding the marinade, if you prefer.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the meat and all the marinade into a baking dish (you can spritz it with non-stick spray to help cleaning later, if you wish). Bake the chicken for 45 minutes, using a spoon or baster to bathe the meat with the juices once or twice during cooking.
Sprinkle the Balsamic Chicken Thighs with a handful of chopped fresh parsley for garnish (or fresh basil if you have it growing in your garden!) and serve. NOM.
What a pretty springtime meal! I just need some bread to get all those yummy juices from the Balsamic Chicken Thighs into mah mouth!
i LOVE THIS CHICKEN
I had ten small boneless chicken thighs. I made 1 1/2 times the amount of marinade and added a generous drizzle of honey to the marinade. The thighs were marinated for about 24 hours. They turned out very nice. I’m glad I added the honey. The flavor was more balanced-not too vinegary and strong.
I made this as a weekend dinner . I did mine at 360 degrees. Made a side of rice and steamed broccoli to go with. Definitely keeping this recipie.
Happy to hear it Brittany!
I’m making this tonight and will leave a review but I just wanted to point out that Sams club has boneless skinless thighs for $1.68 a pound! That makes this recipe cost less 😊😊
Score!
I hit a big hime run with this receipe….so yummy. My husband and I both love it. I intend to make it for family on their next visit.
I followed receipe to the tee and it was perfect..easy to prepare and I always have ingredients on hand…a great go to dinnet. Thanks so much.
Let us know how it turns out Bonnie!
Had this for dinner this weekend, and my husband said he “didn’t want it to end” because it was so good! I’m always looking for easy, cheap recipes, and I love finding ones that are so tasty! Prepared according to the recipe with 6 thighs (they were small), and it was perfect. Served with roasted veggies and a bit of white rice. This is definitely going into our regular dinner rotation!
This recipe is an essential part of our meal planning! We make it almost once a week and we LOVE it. It turns out amazing everytime. It looks and tastes like an intensive recipe but it is so easy to make. Sometimes I roast potatoes and carrots underneath the chicken- delicious. I tweaked this a bit to work better for our household. I double the marinade for every 4 thighs (except for the oil) and use bone in thighs. I cook them covered for 45 minutes, flip, then cook covered for 30 more minutes. Then I take the lid off for the last 15 to get the top skin crunchy. It comes out so tender the meat practically falls off the bone. This recipe is excellent! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your technique for adapting this recipe to bone-in thighs! I’ve made it quite a few times, at this point, and really appreciate the instructions. (Using large chicken quarters also works, but they sometimes need a longer baking time, of course.) Thank you also for the tip to put some root vegetables underneath the chicken — they make such an easy and delicious side dish!
THIS!!! I made it like this was sooooooo good!! thank you
Could I make this in the crockpot using chicken breasts?
It will turn out quite different in a slow cooker because there is no evaporation or caramelization action. It will probably end up very soupy.
I made this for the first time earlier this year and I’ve made it quite a few more times since then. My husband LOVES it and it’s one of his favorite dishes I make, and it never seems to get old. We usually have rice for a side and we spoon the juices over the rice for extra flavor! Thank you for posting this. I’ve come back to making this frequently!! It’s DELICIOUS!!
This is one my husband’s favorite dishes I make. Always scarfs it down. I’ve made this countless times and it NEVER fails!!! I always have rice as my side for this because the cooked marinade that I spoon over it is so complementary and delicious. Thank you for this!!
Funny, I forgot I even left a review about this before… I guess I love the recipe that much I accidentally left a second review, hahaha.
I love this Kathryn! And you!
I’ve made this marinade several times to use on bone-in chicken thighs &
b/s chicken breasts. For the breasts, I bake at 350 deg. F, covering with foil for the first 30 mins. & uncovering & flipping for last 15 mins. For those complaining about the forwardness of the balsamic or about the whole recipe, you can’t just blindly follow a savory recipe, but have to taste & tweek it to YOUR liking. I make the marinade in a separate bowl so that I CAN taste & tweek. When it’s to my liking, I lightly salt & pepper the chicken, pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, refrigerate & marinate for hours or even overnight. I sometimes add white wine, as well. You can even use this for beef & add some beef broth & red wine to make it heartier, or make it Asian by using half balsamic & half seasoned rice wine vinegar, ginger & a bit of sesame oil!
This recipe is a hit in my house! I’m a 20-something college student on a budget, so I always try to find cheap but delicious recipes that I can cook at home after a long day of classes. I’ve made this for my other college roommates multiple times and we NEVER have leftovers! The only tweak I’ve made to the recipe is that I use bone-in thighs since they’re cheaper at the grocery store than the boneless-skinless thighs. Other than that, everything is the same!
I question the 45 minutes cook time for boneless thighs. Even cutting that time in half over cooked the meat and the thighs were very dry. However, the saucr was very flavorful. Not sure if I will make again.
Turkey thighs (skinned, deboned & cubed) take to this recipe very well.
Made this and it was delish! I substituted the brown sugar with Truvia, to cut down the calories and carbs since I’m trying to loose weight. It worked perfect and no one knew the difference.. I want to try grilling the chicken next time.
Wow!! This recipe was excellent and so easy to make !! I have been looking for more recipes to “bake” as it is not only healthier but also quicker & this was just perfect. The brown sugar gave the chicken a nice brownish color. I did not have parsley to garnish but I chopped up carrots and it soaked up all the juice from the marinade. It was almost like a side dish! I wish you had the option to add pictures so I could share with you how delicious it looked!
Made this yesterday and loved it. The leftovers were even better today after sitting overnight in the marinade. I’ve already sent this recipe to 3 people.
This recipe is so easy! It is also very tender and has a mild balsamic taste. The problem I found was that I loved the flavor of the sauce but it was too watery to really stick to the chicken… So after I finished baking the chicken in the sauce I poured the leftover sauce into a pan and boiled it until it was reduced and a nice thick syrup like consistency… The result PURE HEAVEN. I even poured it over the roasted fingerling potatoes that I made as a side to go with the chicken. It takes this recipe to the next level and really only added about 5 min of time in the preparation of the meal.
Oh, and my chicken only has to cook for about 25 min just as a heads up
My family did not like the flavor. It also needs more salt.
If I wanted to do this for say 8-9 pieces how do you advise that I adjust the measurement. Or should I cook in batches?
You should be able to just double the ingredients. Make sure the chicken thighs are not too crowded in the dish, or else they may take longer to cook.
I love this recipe. When there are mushrooms on sale I throw those in with the chicken/marinade too in the oven and they are GREAT. The first time I made this I ate over mashed potatoes but since then I have eaten over a grain (farro is great!) and some veggies – the frozen grilled mixed veggies from trader joes make an easy meal prep meal!
OMG that sounds so good! I love mushrooms with balsamic vinegar! And I love them with mashed potatoes!
This is a excellent recipe and I have made it several time ……..Love, Love it
This is my favorite recipe. We have it several times a month
Do you think when all ingredients combined, this will freeze well for cooking later?
I’ve never actually frozen chicken in marinade before, but there isn’t anything in this marinade that doesn’t freeze well, so I guess it should work!
Made this tonight, and it turned out great! Was a hit. :)
This was amazing!! Now I’m looking forward to the leftovers! We had it over some brown rice/quinoa mix with a side of roasted broccoli…Delicious!
How long did you marinate or how long can you? i didn’t see that…
Anywhere from 1 to 8 hours, in step #1. :)
This recipe was very good. I added baby potatoes and carrots that I pre-preroasted then added green beans the last 15 minutes. Delicious!
Would this recipe work if I used chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Could I also add some carrots in the pan with the chicken to roast?
Thanks!
Yes, they will not be quite as tender, but you can use them. I would pound them out so they are an even thickness across the breast, and maybe cut them in two so they are slightly smaller pieces.
Not really to our taste. The chicken was quite moist and tender but even though we used a good quality balsamic vinegar, the flavors were overpowering and really lacking in subtlety. Mostly vinegar with strong garlic flavor. We won’t be making this again. Thanks for the suggestion, all the same.
I must have done something wrong. I made this and it tasted like vinegar — one of the worst meals I’ve ever made :( I have 5 cooked thighs leftover lying in this liquid. Maybe I can salvage it somehow tomorrow…?
Well, balsamic vinegar is the main flavor here, so it will taste like vinegar. You did use balsamic vinegar and not another variety of vinegar, correct? If the balsamic vinegar is very low quality, though, the flavor might not be as good. The sugar should help balance the acidity of the vinegar, so you can perhaps try adding a touch more vinegar.
Thanks so much for your reply! I have 4 more thighs in my refrigerator still….it was a good balsamic vinegar….but I did not use brown sugar (didn’t have it) and instead added a slight drizzle of real NH maple syrup….maybe that didn’t work correctly, in terms of the chemical composition of the syrup vs brown sugar – or perhaps enough wasn’t added. It was also extremely “watery” – I don’t want to overcook the rest of the chicken….perhaps I will add more syrup and then try to reduce the liquid on the stove, then just briefly pop the chicken back into the oven, covering it with this new sauce….I’ll let you know. Thanks again!
Well, I added some more maple syrup and a pinch of scirracha, and even after the chicken (baked already once) sat in the liquid for 48 hours it still tasted way too sour/tart and like straight-up vinegar…way too literally. Many of the vegetables in the cooking dish simply tasted as if they had been pickled. My guess is that maybe it went this way because the chicken needed to be marinated in the liquid instead of just baked in it. Looking forward to trying your other recipes!
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you! :(
I make this at least twice a month in my crockpot with red bell peppers and carrots and serve it with brown basmati rice. The leftovers make delicious sandwiches.
This is my go-to when we have chicken thighs in the freezer. It’s quick and easy for the crazy nights during the week and even my chicken hating husband loves it! I can honestly say I have never been disappointed by any of your recipes I have tried. Keep ’em coming!
This recipe was delicious loved it will make again..I made mashed potatoes and put gravy all over mummy mummy!
Delicious! I didn’t have time to marinate. So I just baked the chicken in the sauce. Served it over rice. Will definitely make it again!
Hey, whenever i make this recipe it is amazing!! The only problem i have is that the marinade sort of burns on the pan in the oven. It bubbles up some, and turns to floating black burned clumps. It also cakes on the pan and makes the pan impossible to clean. Why is this? is my oven too hot?
Yep, I would try lowering the heat a little. The heat setting can depend a lot on your stove and the type/thickness of your skillet, so sometimes you have to adjust it a little. :)
Made this several times and there was always a lot juice with the chicken when done so this time I poured it all out into a small sauce pan and made gravy to go on mashed potatoes and the chicken. My daughter, who does not typically like gravy, thought it was real good.
I made these awhile back and they were so easy and delicious! Even my husband, who HATES vinegar, thought they were good. I blogged about it. :) http://itjustdawned.blogspot.com/2015/09/balsamic-boneless-chicken-thighs.html#.VoV6xrIo6ig
Approx. how many pounds of chicken did you use? My chicken thighs look bigger than yours, and I want to make sure I have enough sauce for them
This would be enough sauce for up to about 1.5 lbs. boneless thighs. :)
Thank you!!
I just made this for dinner tonight and the results were fantastic! Best marinade I have prepared thus far. I love it due to its simplicity, quick prep, and affordability (I had all the ingredients at hand). It made for juicy & delicious chicken thighs. Thank you for this recipe, will definitely add it to my go to’s. PS- We had it with pearl couscous, avocado, & broccoli; great meal!
I made this last night – could only find breasts or wings and I probably should’ve gone with the wings. I’m no good at chicken breasts…they were a bit dry. But the marinade was SO GOOD! I’m trying to go more vegetarian and I’m definitely going to use this marinade for baked tofu! (I’m not so good at baked tofu either, but I could eat a brick with this marinade) I’m already looking forward to using it again!
Just made this last night and the whole family loved it! I used bone in thighs (I removed the skin first) since that’s what I had on hand, and cooked for an hour instead of the 45 minutes. Definitely will be making again!
Can I pop some veggies (maybe mushrooms and carrots) in with the chicken?
Yep! Carrots would be amazing.
Can you do this in a slow cooker? Would you alter it in anyway for slow cooker?
You can, but it will be a little different because slow cookers are a wet heat cooking method and ovens are a dry heat. So, they will be a bit waterier because nothing evaporates during the cooking and the chicken will be super tender (not such a bad thing!). :)
So using chicken breast instead might work out in the slow cooker?
Yes, I would think so. :)
Excellent! I prepped this as a freezer meal a couple weeks ago when I got a monster sized package of “managers special” chicken thighs 2 days before their expiration date. Defrosted the marinated chicken and dumped it all in a casserole dish and baked it. (Actually, my husband baked it and made a veggie, following my instructions, it whiled I was at the gym!) easy homemade and cheap dinner for the win!! My family of 4 enjoyed it. This will go in the freezer meal rotation!
I’ve made these one other time and they were delicious. Even my boyfriend who is not a chicken fan loved it. I am looking forward to making them again tonight and serving over steamed rice with some of the yummy sauce.
I made this tonight, and it was wonderful. I added in some rosemary from the garden, and used bone in chicken thighs. thank you!!!!
This recipe is amazing! I cut up the chicken and put it on a salad with the drippings, nomnomnom.
I’ve made this a few times and have always enjoyed it!
I found this recipe works well for vegetarians if you replace the chicken with Quorn Chik n cutlets and reduce the baking time to 20 mins. It was delicious.
how long would you recommend cooking it with bone in chicken legs?
Usually bone in chicken takes longer than boneless, but thighs are so small that it might not make a major difference. Start with the 45 minutes suggested in the recipe, then you’ll have to cut into one to see if it’s cooked through. It should no longer be pink and the juices should be clear.
This is some of the best tasting chicken I’ve ever had. It was a huge hit in my household. Thank you!!
We made this for dinner tonight and it was super tasty and really easy – thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Am making this chicken recipe tonight along with your lemon butter green beans. Thank you!
The kids went nuts for this, even the one who hates everything! Really easy to prep too. Thanks for sharing, love your site.
Loved it! I’ve made it twice this week (once for my parents and once for myself). I have it with rice and green beans and drizzle extra sauce on the rice. I wonder if there’s a way to make roux and thicken the sauce on the stove? I imagine it’d be delicious over potatoes.
Hmm… I would pour it in a pot and try reducing the sauce to thicken instead of making a roux.
My kids loved these; my three year old kept asking for more “steak” no matter how many times I told him it was chicken.
I tried this recipe last night and the flavor was fantastic, even though I made it on a whim and only let the chicken marinade for an hour.
My only issue was that the chicken was a little overdone. I cooked the thighs (I used 6) for 45 min on 375. I will definitely try this again though! Next time I think I will start temping the thighs at about 30-35 min.
Thanks for the budget friendly recipes!
I tried this the other night and it was delicious. Even the 4 year old liked it and ate it up.
I feel like dumping it in the crockpot….on low…all day. That way, I could feed my very impatient and hungry daughters way faster!!! Would this be a no no?
That would probably work well! :)
Ok! Put the thighs in the slowcocker for four hours on high….note to myself…low will work best, even for four hours! Needless to say, the chicken was WELL done! But still good. So I will definitely be giving this recipe another try! Thanks Beth!
Just got done eating these for dinner and they were so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and the chicken came out very juicy and flavorful. Made your skillet potatoes and green beans on the side as pictured – a perfect meal! I’ll be making this again.
Beth- Hi! Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I’m on my second time making this by popular demand! I love thighs too but I hate trimming all the fat. I actually got too distracted to turn them over or baste them but they came out just fine. I’m tempted to try this with “sweet” soy sauce? Would hate to ruin a great meal with a small but potentially ruinous deviation? Also, I love that I have everything already in the pantry.
Hmm, I’ve actually never cooked with sweet soy sauce! If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. :)
My dad called this delicious dinner, “elegant”. :)
Served on a bed of cooked white rice with liberal amounts of marinade ladled on top of the rice and fresh parsley sprinkled on top to add color/flavor.
Totally amazing. Thank you!
I made this just now, and it is DELICIOUS. I don’t use a lot of salt when cooking, and I was worried the soy sauce might make it too salty, but I used a low-sodium soy sauce and it’s wonderful. Thanks!
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great! My first time cooking chicken thighs.
Hey Beth,
Love everything you do…Keep up the good work. Wondering if we can make this chicken on a stove top in a nonstick pan??
Thanks
YOU ARE AMAZING…
Probably, yes. It’d also work well on a grill! You can boil the marinade for 15 minutes or let it simmer until it reduces to replicate the juices left in the bottom of the baking dish.
Works great on the grill w/some grilled asparagus as a side and a nice salad with balsamic/honey/mustard vinaigrette.
I used to be so scared of thighs (not just my own) because I thought it was like dark meat gone wrong. And then my mom told me Chipotle uses thighs in their bowls because it’s juicy, tender and versatile, basically all the things you said! And their cheaper than white breast. Balsamic is tasty too, yum!
The sauce for these chicken thighs looks delicious. I don’t usually make thighs, but your recipe is making me crave them!
These sound so delicious! I am a fan of your site and tool around from time to time looking for recipes, no idea why I haven’t subscribed but I took care of that tonight! I was wondering if you or anyone else ever made a list of your recipes by price, it’d be fun to see cheapest to most expensive (though I know they are all Budget Bytes!).
Made this with chicken breasts tonight… AMAZING! First chicken recipe I’ve been able to make that was actually tasty and moist. I cooked mine for 35 minutes, covered with foil for the first half. The sauce was so tasty!
Hi Beth,
Just wanted to thank you for your wonderful blog. I made this tonight for dinner and it turned out wonderfully. I made it with some breasts and some thighs…thighs only next time for me. I’m off to get your cookbook next!!!
Hello Beth! I can’t wait to try this! Question: if I were to spray the baking dish with non-stick spray before adding the chicken/marinade, would that mess this up (make it too greasy? Weird?) When I made your honey-sriracha chicken, all the sugars somehow completely stuck to my Pyrex dish – probably because I over-cooked it, but nothing ever sticks to that thing! (it was delicious, anyway!) Sorry if this is a stupid question…Thank you!
Yes, you can definitely spray it with non-stick spray and it won’t cause any problems. :) (and no, it’s not a stupid question!)
Yum! Looks good. This might be a silly question – can I just marinate it in the baking dish (a pyrex thingy w a cover)?
I did. It worked just fine. I turned the chicken over every thirty minutes, for about 4 hours, in the marinade, since it didn’t completely cover the chicken. This was really delicious.
I also turned the chicken over every 15 minutes during cooking to prevent it from drying out.
Next time I think I will try covering the dish with foil to help keep it moister.
Yes you can. Great thinking! :)
Yes! I’m going to make this tonight. Thank you!
This looks awesome! I never know what to do with chicken, and I think I am hesitant with it because it always turns out dry. I have 2 chicken breasts I want to do this with… would the baking time be the same?
The baking time will probably be a bit different, but mostly because of the size of the chicken. It’s hard to say how long it will need to bake without seeing the size of the chicken breasts. I’d start with 30 minutes, then cut one open to see if it’s cooked through.
This Looks Delicious! I get excited whenever you post a new recipe.
Also just wanted to point out that you say “Place four (or six) boneless, skinless chicken breasts” in the picture steps.
Ooops! Thanks for catching that! :)
Hey Beth! Love all your affordable recipes, I continually visit your site to find something tasty and affordable. My question is… can you perhaps add a link to “this goes well with”..side dish, dessert, salad, etc.? I believe I’ve seen these helpful links like this before, I just want More! More tasty links! : )
That is definitely something I need to do more of! I’ll try to be more disciplined with it! :)